"Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the second most-wanted terrorist in the world, has been hiding in the group’s besieged stronghold of Mosul, encircled by the Iraqi army and allied militias, a senior Kurdish commander told the Independent.

In an interview on Wednesday, Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff of Iraqi Kurdistan’s head, Massoud Barzani, said that, though he has been lying low for the past eight or nine months, Baghdadi is most likely still alive and in the city."

"Baghdadi is there and, if he is killed, it will mean the collapse of the whole [IS] system,” Hussein argued, pointing to the vulnerability of Islamic State’s (IS, ISIS/ISIL) command structure, which has no suitable replacement for Baghdadi."...

-RT news article (I did not write this)

Thoughts: The death of Baghdadi will bring about the collapse of IS, and Mosul will fall, but how long this will take is a serious problem, because if IS leader is in Mosul, the IS fighters will do anything to protect their leader.

Edited 11/2/2016 11:03:14

Good thing if he's killed or captured, but I doubt ISIS will fall with him, someone will always take the place, and ideas, which is kind of a big part of ISIS, are hard to kill. The best we can do is hope that they start killing each other in a power struggle.

A power struggle is one possibility. And a lesser prestigious or more controversial leader can definetely weaken them. Killing the leader is one of the easiest ways to plummet down morale.

death of Baghdadi for ISIS would be the same thing as Bin Laden for Al Qaeda.

and Al Qaeda still exists and has some major operation areas today.

But if Putin liquidates all the terrorists, ISIS may be gone forever. Maybe.

The thing is with Al Qaeda, is that even though they are still active; it's a weak terrorist group. It doesn't 'perform' on a scale from when Bin Laden was in power.

Wait. Who's the first?

But if Putin liquidates all the terrorists, ISIS may be gone forever. Maybe.

I'm affraid that Putin actions in Syria, jus like the US in Afghanistan encourages more people to become terrorists instead of ending it. Killing terrorists is pointless if the brutality of your actions just creates more terrorists.

Wait. Who's the first?

I don't know, either. Maybe some Colombian druglord that's killed more than Mashriq since he's been doing it for 20 years - Mashriq 5.

I'm affraid that Putin actions in Syria, jus like the US in Afghanistan encourages more people to become terrorists instead of ending it.

That's not in RF strategic interest to make more Islamists...at all...

I don't think he meant it was intentional

They're not fops; what happened was likely that the Genstab, War Ministry, sociologs, poltiical scientists, analysed and set the plan of war so that it would either hurt NATO wants, and/or not having the SAR and the RF take much hurt from these Islaamists.

Putin would never fuck up like USA leaders. Plus, Assad is his storng supporter and has power, unlike prop gov'ts USA set up

It seems the Iraqis are putting a new combat robot to test in Mosul. It looks like one of those cars you would buy for a kid, but with a infrared targeting system and a machine gun.

Putin would never fuck up like USA leaders.

USA leaders don't fuck up, either. They do what they want and are given "motives" to, and that's the way it's been pretty much in every big country since the 1910s.

USA leaders don't fuck up

Obama has fucked up big time.

Edited 11/3/2016 11:05:46

Like?

I think you are confusing just generally being evil and corrupt (which Pootin has very big muchness of as well) with fucking up.

Edited 11/3/2016 20:53:22